Amber is one of my favourite colors. It's defined as a mix of red and green.

www.barwy.net

However in the nature we rarely see "clean" colors. That's perfectly OK - that's why nature is so fascinating Amber can look like this:

or like this:

Amber has been appreciated by artists for its color and natural beauty, howevet it inspires not only artists but also ink manufacturers. Three of four compared inks were named after amber. Inti produced by L'Artisan Pastellier in France was named after ancient Incan sun god; given its color is really close to these ink ambers, I've decided to compare it with them.

PHOTO (notice: the pictures were taken on a sunny day. These inks will NEVER look like that in artificial light. The picture shows intensity of the inks and nuances that are lost on scans).

2. Ink splashes (2 drops of ink)

3. Swabs and splashes (is it correct english term?) on a photo

4. Trace of ink left by the nib on the paper (from left to right: Ambre de Birmanie, Inti, Amber, Arima Amber):

5. Text written with Pilot 78 G with B nib on Oxford paper:

6. Text written on cheap notebook

(from top to bottom: Ambre de Birmanie, Inti, Amber, Arima Amber)

7. Text written on cheap copy paper (Lyreco) printed with dots:

8. Are they waterproof?

9. Dry times:

SUMMARY

I really like two colors Amber and Inti. Amber is great however it’s not really waterproof, besides it shows tendency to clogging on some of my nibs. That’s why I consider INTI to be number one. Ambre de Birmanie has beautiful color, but it is NOT practical: it’s difficult to read text written with it in bright light. Arima Amber is boring – it flows well and seems to be OK, but it just doesn’t have wowo factor.

Below you’ll find photos of each swab (I wish the colors were so rich on scans and in every-day use )

Thank you! What a lovely review. This is also one of my favourite ink colours, maybe even the colour of anything. But why did you compare only four? Actually, my very most favourite Amber is AMBER LEA.

Great review! I have all 4 of these, but my favorite is Ambre de Birmanie, followed by Inti. AdB stays brighter and has more pop on the page after several days. Inti and Edelstein Amber both look a little flat and dull after a few days. Arima Amber is more of a Terra Cotta color, which is a nice color, but I was hoping for something more like AdB when I ordered it. I use a lot of AdB!

I don't know Inti....ah ha, the Paris ink/art company that ships in little foil bags to cut mailing costs.....

I'd not thought of buying Pelikan Amber...now I do.

I was very pleased at seeing the shading of the Pelikan and the Inti.

Don't like the 'dullness' factor mentioned.

Due to Mauricio's improved definition of Super-flex, I try not use the term Easy Full Flex, but fail...sigh.

Semi-flex is an “almost” flex; not a ‘flex’ nib. It is great for regular writing with a touch of flair. It can give you some fancy; but it is not made for real fancy writing. For bit more of that get a 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex. Both spread tines 3X. Those are not "Flex" nibs.

Odd, how many who should know better, compares Japanese F (which equals EF), with Western F, with out a second thought, but do not compare Japanese B with Western B.

Wider than Normal does not exist.Wider than Japanese does. Every company has it's very own standard + slop/tolerance. Developed from the users of it's pens only; not the users of other companies pens.The size you grind a nib to, is your standard only. Paper and ink matter to nib width. Thank god for 1/2 sizes or it would be boring.

I own a bottle of the Pelikan. But, the more I've used it, the less I like it. It seems to have a bluish/greenish component that becomes more visible on cheaper paper or a wider nib. I notice your swatches don't have that, so maybe I got a bad bottle?

Thank you! What a lovely review. This is also one of my favourite ink colours, maybe even the colour of anything. But why did you compare only four? Actually, my very most favourite Amber is AMBER LEA.

Mike

When I grow up, I want to be a great lawyer. Until then, I practice. - A.Davis

I'm surprised by the warmth of the Callifolio ink, the ones I have tried are all cool colors and rather washed out. I think of the INTI as the color I most associate with amber, although this Amber has hair the color of the Sailor ink.

When I grow up, I want to be a great lawyer. Until then, I practice. - A.Davis